# Kennedy McKinney

Kennedy McKinney (born January 10, 1966) is an American former professional boxer, who won the bantamweight gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics. As a professional, he won the IBF and WBO super bantamweight titles.

## Military service

McKinney took up boxing while serving in the U.S. Army, private first class stationed at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

## Amateur career

* 1985 2nd place at United States Amateur Championships as a Flyweight, was stopped by Arthur Johnson
* 1986 2nd place at United States Amateur Championships as a Flyweight, losing by decision to Arthur Johnson
* 1987 3rd place at United States Amateur Championships as a Bantamweight, losing by decision to Michael Collins
* 1988 2nd place at United States Amateur Championships as a Bantamweight, losing by decision to Jemal Hinton
* Prior to the 1988 Olympics had several international duals where he fought Alexei Artemiev of the Soviet Union, Rene Breitbarth of East Germany, Aleksandar Hristov of Bulgaria and Byun Jung-il of South Korea, to whom he lost.
* 1988 qualified as a Bantamweight for the United States Olympic Team, avenging previous defeats versus Michael Collins, whom he beat three times and Jemal Hinton, all by decision.
* Won the Bantamweight Olympic Gold Medal at the Seoul Olympic Games. Results were:
** Defeated Erick Perez (Guatemala) TKO 1
** Defeated Shahuraj Birajdor (India) forfeit
** Defeated Steve Mwema (Kenya) points
** Defeated Phajol Moolsan (Thailand) TKO 1
** Defeated Aleksandar Hristov (Bulgaria) points
McKinney claimed an amateur record of 214 wins, 13 losses.

## Professional career

Known as "King", McKinney was a cautious yet exciting junior featherweight (super bantamweight) fighter who captured the IBF title by beating Welcome Ncita in 1992 in a spectacular bout that saw him staggered and taking a standing eight count before knocking the African cold with a perfect right hand.
After five defenses, among others a KO over Rudy Zavala and a points win over Ncita, he lost his belt to future star Vuyani Bungu, a fight which was deemed 1994 Upset of the Year by Ring Magazine.
Two years later he challenged undefeated Marco Antonio Barrera for the WBO super bantamweight title, a vicious battle in which he dropped Barrera in the 11th, but lost via TKO in the 12th. McKinney later took a rematch against Bungu, but lost a narrow split decision. Later that year, he did battle with Junior Jones who had upset Barrera in an exciting war, one which McKinney won via TKO.
McKinney then moved up a weight class to challenge Luisito Espinosa for the WBC featherweight title in 1998. Espinosa made quick work of McKinney, winning via a 2nd-round TKO.
After the loss to Espinosa, McKinney quickly lost steam. He would fight only five more times against scattered and limited opposition, three of which took place during a brief comeback run in 2002-03.

## Life after boxing

Kennedy now resides in Olive Branch, Mississippi, where he is simply known as "Coach McKinney". He is the Head Boxing Coach at the Prize Fight Gym in Southaven, Mississippi.

## Professional boxing record

| 43 fights | 36 wins | 6 losses |
| By knockout | 19 | 2 |
| By decision | 17 | 4 |
| Draws | 1 | 1 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 43 | Loss | 36–6–1 | Greg Torres | UD | 6 | Apr 4, 2003 | Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut, U.S. | |
| 42 | Win | 36–5–1 | Joseph Figueroa | UD | 6 | Jun 7, 2002 | DeSoto Civic Center, Southaven, Mississippi, U.S. | |
| 41 | Win | 35–5–1 | Gene Vassar | UD | 6 | Apr 26, 2002 | Horizon Theatre, Muncie, Indiana, U.S. | |
| 40 | Loss | 34–5–1 | Jorge Antonio Paredes | UD | 10 | Nov 19, 1999 | Grand Casino, Tunica, Mississippi, U.S. | |
| 39 | Win | 34–4–1 | Mario Díaz | UD | 10 | Aug 28, 1999 | Grand Casino, Tunica, Mississippi, U.S. | |
| 38 | Loss | 33–4–1 | Luisito Espinosa | TKO | 2 (12), 0:47 | Nov 28, 1998 | Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S. | For WBC featherweight title |
| 37 | Win | 33–3–1 | Junior Jones | TKO | 4 (12), 2:41 | Dec 19, 1997 | Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, Nea York, U.S. | Won WBO super bantamweight title |
| 36 | Win | 32–3–1 | Luigi Camputaro | TKO | 5 (10), 0:10 | Oct 5, 1997 | Fort Hood, Texas, U.S. | |
| 35 | Win | 31–3–1 | Hector Acero Sánchez | UD | 12 | May 6, 1997 | Medieval Times, Lyndhurst, New Jersey, U.S. | Won vacant IBF-USBA super bantamweight title |
| 34 | Loss | 30–3–1 | Vuyani Bungu | SD | 12 | Apr 5, 1997 | Carousel Hotel & Casino, Temba, South Africa | For IBF super bantamweight title |
| 33 | Win | 30–2–1 | Néstor López | SD | 10 | Sep 14, 1996 | Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | |
| 32 | Win | 29–2–1 | Johnny Lewus | UD | 12 | May 5, 1996 | Grand Casino, Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S. | Won vacant IBF-USBA super bantamweight title |
| 31 | Loss | 28–2–1 | Marco Antonio Barrera | TKO | 12 (12), 2:05 | Feb 3, 1996 | Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | For WBO super bantamweight title |
| 30 | Win | 28–1–1 | John Lowey | TKO | 8 (12), 1:10 | Aug 26, 1995 | Bismarck Hotel, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Won inaugural WBU super bantamweight title |
| 29 | Loss | 27–1–1 | Vuyani Bungu | SD | 12 | Aug 20, 1994 | Carousel Casino, Temba, South Africa | Lost IBF super bantamweight title |
| 28 | Win | 27–0–1 | Welcome Ncita | MD | 12 | Apr 16, 1994 | Convention Center, South Padre Island, Texas, U.S. | Retained IBF super bantamweight title |
| 27 | Win | 26–0–1 | José Rincones | KO | 5 (12), 2:40 | Feb 19, 1994 | Carousel Casino, Temba, South Africa | Retained IBF super bantamweight title |
| 26 | Win | 25–0–1 | Jesus Salud | UD | 12 | Oct 16, 1993 | Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada, U.S. | Retained IBF super bantamweight title |
| 25 | Win | 24–0–1 | Rudy Zavala | TKO | 3 (12), 2:08 | Jul 17, 1993 | The Pyramid, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. | Retained IBF super bantamweight title |
| 24 | Win | 23–0–1 | Richard Duran | UD | 12 | Apr 17, 1993 | ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California, U.S. | Retained IBF super bantamweight title |
| 23 | Win | 22–0–1 | Welcome Ncita | KO | 11 (12), 2:48 | Dec 2, 1992 | Teatro Tenda, Tortolì, Italy | Won IBF super bantamweight title |
| 22 | Win | 21–0–1 | Paul Banke | RTD | 6 (12), 3:00 | Mar 20, 1992 | Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | Retained IBF-USBA super bantamweight title |
| 21 | Win | 20–0–1 | Sugar Baby Rojas | UD | 12 | Feb 9, 1992 | Harrah's Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | Won IBF-USBA super bantamweight title |
| 20 | Win | 19–0–1 | Max Gomez | SD | 8 | Dec 7, 1991 | Reno-Sparks Convention Center, Reno, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 19 | Win | 18–0–1 | Vicente Gonzalez | UD | 10 | Sep 24, 1991 | Reseda Country Club, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| 18 | Win | 17–0–1 | Mauro Montes | TKO | 1 (6), | Sep 13, 1991 | Plaza Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 17 | Win | 15–0–1 | Jerome Coffee | TKO | 6 (10), 2:26 | May 23, 1991 | Bally's Las Vegas, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 16 | Win | 15–0–1 | Edel Geronimo | TKO | 5 (8), 2:21 | Mar 17, 1991 | Bally's Las Vegas, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 15 | Win | 14–0–1 | Richard Abila | KO | 5 (10), 2:21 | Jan 18, 1991 | Sands Hotel and Casino, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 14 | Win | 13–0–1 | Adriano Arreola | TKO | 5 (6), 1:37 | Dec 20, 1990 | Bally's Las Vegas, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 13 | Win | 12–0–1 | Gabriel Castro | TKO | 4 (4), 1:12 | Nov 8, 1990 | Bally's Las Vegas, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 12 | Win | 11–0–1 | José Luis Martínez | UD | 6 | Jul 29, 1990 | Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. | |
| 11 | Win | 10–0–1 | Jorge Rodríguez | UD | 8 | Jun 26, 1990 | Reseda Country Club, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| 10 | Win | 9–0–1 | Antonio González | TKO | 7 (8), 2:44 | Jun 15, 1990 | Bally's Las Vegas, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 9 | Win | 8–0–1 | Chilo Guzman | TKO | 4 (6), 1:44 | May 29, 1990 | Reseda Country Club, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| 8 | Win | 7–0–1 | Godfrey Johnson | TKO | 2 (4), 0:34 | May 3, 1990 | Quality Inn Hotel, Newark, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 7 | Win | 6–0–1 | Reggie Johnson | TKO | 2 (4) | Apr 21, 1990 | Red Deer Arena, Red Deer, Canada | |
| 6 | Win | 5–0–1 | José Luis Martínez | SD | 4 | Oct 31, 1989 | Showboat Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 5 | Draw | 4–0–1 | David Sanchez | TD | 2 (6), 1:35 | Aug 29, 1989 | Showboat Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | Sanchez unable to continue after being cut by an accidental headbutt |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | David Moreno | UD | 6 | Jun 12, 1989 | Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Damion Sutton | UD | 4 | May 2, 1989 | Harrah's Hotel & Casino, Stateline, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Charles Hawkins | TKO | 1 (4), 2:37 | Mar 25, 1989 | Hilton Hotel, Winchester, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | David Alers | TKO | 2 (4), 2:42 | Feb 24, 1989 | Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |